West Yorkshire reveals Weaver Network brand for franchising
West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) has revealed the new brand its planned franchised bus system will take: the Weaver Network.
The name is inspired by the region’s historic textile industry and ‘visually reflects the cultural fabric of modern-day West Yorkshire’, according to the Authority. It follows extensive work to explore the region’s cultural identity, including the involvement of poet laureate and West Yorkshire resident Simon Armitage. A decision was taken by the Combined Authority in January 2025 to retire the current Metro brand and related identities such as Leeds Park and Ride, and CityConnect, and adopt a new brand and identity to be used across an integrated transport network for West Yorkshire. The transition will be rolled out gradually in step with the three phases of the bus franchising programme.
To be cost effective, the brand will be gradually introduced, starting with existing planned replacements at bus stops and stations. The branding will then be rolled out further when buses are taken under local control from 2027, before being included on the planned West Yorkshire tram system, for which construction work will start in 2028.
“The Weaver Network is a fresh, modern identity for transport in West Yorkshire” – Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin
Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, said: “For too long, our region has suffered from a disjointed, confusing, and increasingly hard to navigate public transport system.
“The Weaver Network is a fresh, modern identity for transport in West Yorkshire, reflecting our greater powers through devolution, as well as our ongoing work to bring buses back under public control and create a fully-integrated mass transit network.
“This will help us on our journey to creating a transport system that is easier to use, and demonstrates our ambition to create a better-connected region that works for all.”
“The Weaver Network will reflect a public transport network that the region can be proud of” – West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee chair, Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe
West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee chair, Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe, said: “Our role within public transport in the region is constantly evolving – the Metro brand was created in 1974, and our organisation’s roles and responsibilities have changed immeasurably since then.
“With the Mayor’s decision to take back control of the bus network, we are now moving towards a fully integrated transport network under one brand, replacing about 19 different brands currently in use. The Weaver Network will reflect a public transport network that the region can be proud of, while helping the public to understand who is responsible for helping them travel to where they need to be.”
“To me, The Weaver Network name symbolises the threads connecting people with places” – Simon Armitage, national Poet Laureate and West Yorkshire resident
Simon Armitage, national Poet Laureate and West Yorkshire resident, said: “I was pleased and proud to be part of a conversation about the naming of the future transport network – I’m West Yorkshire born and bred, a public transport user, a geography graduate and a poet – in many ways it was the perfect invitation.
“To me, The Weaver Network name symbolises the threads connecting people with places, shuttling to and fro, built on heritage and creating new ties and links.”